Nuance speakers

Odd, I was just wondering the same thing.... did you see the set on kijiji for 500??

From what a salesman told me a couple of weeks ago, it appears as though the company is gone since the founder passed away. Not sure if there is any truth to the statement or not.

I think they are still around to some capacity. Try the info below for sales in Canada.

905-305-8438 - Sales/Service
220 Torbay Rd
Markham, ON
L3R 2P3

Nuance drivers are available from Parts Express.

I see alot of them around here. Good but not great speakers. They have a bad reputation more for the way they were sold and not the actual speakers. The story goes that they would be sold as $6000 speakers that just happen to be on sale for half price when in reality they never sold for full price and even at half they were over priced. Also famous for using the q-sound 3d cds for demo where the sales man would turn the speakers around and claim the great sound image was because of the speaker and not mention the special cd used for the demo. The ones I have heard sound good but not at the level of the competion at the actual paid for price and defiantly not the "retial prices". As an owner of rc series energy speakers the energys blow away any nuance I have ever heard. Cf line might be closer but much more refined. What most of the nuance I have heard had going for them was a big cabinet with big drivers that packed a punch.

My experience with Nuance salesman was exactly the same. Enhanced CDs followed by high pressure sales. Once I got them to play my own CDs I very easily decided to leave the store, drive down the street and purchase some Energy speakers.

Total nonsense guys. These speaks are fantastic for what they are. I understand the company is nebulous at best, but they are a properly tuned box. They employ a decent crossover, which when re-capped with film caps they really shine. I acquired my pair (model unknown) from a friend of mine a few days ago. There are no light bulbs, they have a decent L/C network minus the cheap electrolytic caps which are easily replaced. They are not a full band bass driver with a cap on the tweet. THESE ARE NOT WHITE VAN SPEAKERS.

The model I have is a simple 2-way, with a nice soft dome tweeter in a waveguide, and a front-ported, tuned box. Nicely balanced for classical and light pop, with nice bass extension for their size...

Again, these absolutely are not a White Van scam. I agree with the high pressure salesman idea, but what salesman isn't? They all work on commission and 95% of them don't know what the hell they are talking about, and if they do, they are not allowed to say so because they risk losing their job if they don't tow the Company line (read: profit margin, think Bose).

-A

Sorry guys - my speakers aren't for sale.

I couldn't help myself; I'm sorry.

Like I said the speakers I have been able to hear, about 6 sets, in peoples homes sounded good and definitely not white van. There are lots of models out there so not are not equal. Only models I have heard constant complaints on are the ones with powered woofer built in that would fail prematurely with no company support. At the right price I would recommend these to anyone (not the powered ones). In the 90s it seamed every young oil rigger making his first big check bought these so lots available here. Now the sales part was on the verge of fraud not just high pressure sales. If you search online it is funny how everyone got the same pitch and the sales manager for nuance always just happened to be in the store to offer a specail discount but had to be bought right away.

Calgary, pull a driver out and find the same one at parts express. They are really cheap and the reason they had "lifetime" warranty on the drivers.
Next, while the driver is out, tell us what the cabinet is made of? It's particle board, not mdf, which almost all quality speakers are made of. And if your feeling up to it, show us a picture of you crossover. I've seen them, they are not the quality pieces you describe.

@Nuance - again no model numbers. Crossover mods make all the difference but they are also OK stock for the causal listener. The model I have is extremely inefficient. They eat power like candy. I'm currently running them on a Hafler p3000 150w/per channel and it's just enough to get them to 120dB with the occasional clip LED on Rock music. Classical is a different story. They are a little bright but that works for some material... and can be padded down. IMO, for what they are they're fantastic. Wish the company was still around.

-A

Update:

Gutted the crossovers, running 6w/16w/pc, hollow state. 7189 single ended triode monoblocks on the top end, EL84's on the bass drivers, actively crossed. Passively EQ'd. They SING! I am one very happy camper!

Anyone else want to share their experience with these very interesting inexpensive speakers?

-A

I have a set of Nuance Ultimate Grand speakers, and after several years of vibrating items off our shelves and cabinets, i've learned to install edge rails on all our knick knack/ display shelves to prevent further damage.
I consider it a bit of a status symbol to be able to break things with nothing more than a pair of speakers.
we are running an Onkyo TXNR 801 (should have bought the TXNR1000 when I had the money), and even without running it through the built in amp on the Ultimates, it is still way more sound then we can handle.
thank goodness we live on acreage in the Shuswap and don't have to worry about neighbours as well.
I'm not sure of the weight of these units, but I bet they are at least 300lbs each ( two strong men and they are still a chore to move around)
when I first brought them home I was curious as to the big 2 inch spikes in the 4 corners of the bottoms of each speaker .... I was informed that these were to prevent them from bouncing around while at loud volume.
as for the sound quality.....i don't know all the technical jargon but the lows vibrate your butt, the highs tickle the hair on your head and the mids reajust your heart beat....especially with some Pink Floyd or Moody Blues playing...........
....yes I'd say I have heard of Nuance speakers...to bad you haven't